ORLANDO, Fla. – A new experience with wildlife has people flocking to a Central Florida attraction.
Discovery Cove opened its new Flamingo Point exhibit, giving visitors a chance to mingle with the vibrant birds face-to-face.
“Everybody thinks Florida has flamingos, right? It’s usually the plastic ones you see or they’re in Miami, but the birds have not lived year-round in Florida since the early 1900s. They were originally hunted to extinction for their feathers and it took a lot of conservation efforts to get their numbers back up,” said Kathleen Gass, Supervisor of Aviculture at Discovery Cove Orlando.
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Through the conservation efforts of Discovery Cove and Sea World, 22 Caribbean Flamingos are thriving and call Central Florida home, many born and raised at the parks. They live in the new Flamingo Point exhibit that includes a waterfall, sandy beach areas, pools and lots of tropical plants.
Gass is one of several experienced and knowledgeable bird specialists keeping a close eye on the Flamingos and educating visitors.
“Everybody looks at them and says ‘Their knees bend backward.’ That’s not true. That’s actually a foot. They have a very elongated foot, so what you’re seeing bent is not their knee,” Gass said.
You can check out these big birds face-to-face through the new add-on experience called the Flamingo Mingle. You’ll get to interact with the flamingoes in a special area right next to their home.
“You’ll see them sometimes prancing like little ballerinas, and they make lots of noise,” Gass said. “We ask you not to touch the birds, we let them touch you.”
Crystal Moyer - Insider Guide
Well, it doesn't get more 'behind the scenes' than this. This photo was captured while I was setting up my camera for an interview. Head to our Insider page to see why visitors are flocking to Discovery Cove to experience the new 'Flamingo Mingle' and how the new attraction is benefiting conservation efforts.
You’ll get to interact with the big birds by feeding them food and water. Flamingos eat and drink with their beaks upside down, making for a loud and messy snack time.
And there’s plenty of opportunities for picture-taking.
Gass said it’s important for people to get an up-close experience with animals like Flamingos to promote conservation efforts.
“All of our animal experiences are designed with conservation efforts in mind. When you are getting a guest to have a one-on-one experience, it’s an amazing experience, it’s moving. It’s through those connections that you can teach guests to love and understand something and then by rights, protect that. Giving the guests more knowledge than they can get from pages in a book,” Gass said.
An experience not only offering up knowledge and understanding of the animals to help protect them but also giving back to conservation efforts. Five percent of all Flamingo Mingle purchases go to Audubon Florida, a nonprofit that rehabs injured birds and supports conservation and restoration projects for their habitats in the wild.
The Flamingo Mingle experience is an add-on and not included in the regular admission for Discovery Cove. The cost for the experience starts at $59 per person.
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